The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is aiming to draw at least 1 million Japanese visitors into Thailand by the end of this year, according to an official.
Polphum Wipatphumiprathet, a close aide to Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanich, said on Sunday that the ministry is exploring ways to attract more Japanese tourists, and plans to discuss how to bolster tourism cooperation with relevant Japanese authorities.
Mr Polphum said that Japan has a population of 124 million and is the world's fourth-largest economy, adding that Japanese visitors are also widely considered as high-quality tourists.
"Japan is a key tourist market we must maintain and broaden," said Mr Polphum during his visit to the Tourism Authority of Thailand's office in Japan.
Last year, the number of Japanese visitors was about 800,000 and the ministry plans to increase the number to 1 million by the end of this year, he said, adding this is expected to help the ministry achieve the tourism revenue target of 3.5 trillion baht.
From January to June this year, out of 17.5 million foreign arrivals, 470,789 were Japanese tourists. The top five foreign arrivals during the first half of the year were Chinese (3.43 million), Malaysian (2.43 million), Indian (1 million), South Korean (934,983) and Russian (920,989).
According to Mr Polphum, tourists prioritise safety, hygiene and convenience, so the ministry takes it as a mission to develop and promote tourism to attract more international visitors to further boost the country's economic growth.
